MANCHESTER — A local man is facing a felony charge of possession of heroin, which police said they found while searching for a 17-year-old girl who had been reported missing Tuesday.

Lamar James, 23, of Manchester, pleaded innocent to the charge in Bennington criminal court Wednesday. He is currently being held at the Rutland jail on $10,000 bail.

In an affidavit, Cpl. James Blanchard of the Manchester Police Department said a man came to the Manchester police station Tuesday around 11 p.m. to report that his daughter had not been home in two days.

The man said he had talked to some of his daughter’s friends and believed she was at a Depot Street motel in Manchester with James. The man also told police that his daughter’s friends believed James was a “known drug dealer,” which caused him to be worried about his daughter’s safety.

With Sgt. Josh Epstein, of the Winhall Police Department, Blanchard went to the motel where they found the girl, who they recognized from a photo supplied by her father, in a room with James.

Epstein saw what he believed to be a bag of marijuana in an open desk drawer.

James gave police permission to search the room, according to Blanchard. In the search, Epstein found 16 bags of what police believed was heroin.

Epstein said he also found “multiple” empty bags in a trash can that once contained heroin.

The bags were labeled “Black Magic.” Blanchard said the contents of one of the bags were field-tested and returned a positive indication that what was inside was heroin.

The estimated total weight of the alleged heroin was about 510 milligrams.